This commentary appeared in the print edition of the Jan. 6, 2020, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook.
When Stephen Hawking said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change,” he probably wasn’t thinking about intermodal trucking. Today, advances in technology and their adoption are happening at a pace never seen before, quickly changing the expectations of shippers that count on full factory-floor-to-destination-door cargo visibility.
Within our industry segment, however, the vast majority of service providers, a diverse group with many small, family-owned businesses, are unable to provide the level of cargo visibility shippers desire. As we move into 2020, technology-backed cargo visibility and key performance indicator (KPI) data will no longer be nice-to-haves but rather must-haves. The change has taken hold.
In 2019, we found market conditions — including trade tariffs and the realignment of shipping patterns, as well as reductions in volumes — created an environment where cargo visibility was particularly important, as it enabled us to respond to trade lane demand changes and realign our national network to support our customers’ supply chains.
At RoadOne, our aim is to be the highest-quality and best-value carrier. That’s why we continue to expand our national footprint and technological infrastructure to address our shipper customers’ visibility and service expectations. Every truck in the RoadOne fleet has onboard technology enabling in-cab status updates. Our TrueVision transport management system enables geofencing, perimeter and customer facility, as well as live status updates, including a notice of goods arrival. Overall, this provides for better safety, predictability, and on-time supply chain performance.
We’re also embracing change when it comes to the challenge of addressing greater supply chain agility and flexibility. We achieve this with a three-pronged business approach that includes our own company store model with RoadOne’s own trucks and service locations, an agent network, and a new RoadOne LogisticSolutions brokerage service.